Nra Fires A Barrage At Gun-sale Amendment

The National Rifle Association is launching a statewide media blitz opposing a gun-control amendment to the Florida Constitution that will be on the ballot Tuesday.

Revision 12 gives counties the option of regulating firearm sales not covered by state or federal laws. Aimed at gun shows, the revision requires criminal background checks and waiting periods on all firearm sales that don't take place on private property.

The NRA radio ads denounce the revision as reducing the penalties for illegal firearm sales. The gun lobby contends that illegal gun sales already are felony offenses, while the maximum penalty under a county ordinance would be a misdemeanor.

``It is nonsense to put an ordinance in place that asks law enforcement officers to bring misdemeanor charges against people engaged in illegal gun sales and gun trafficking,'' said Marion Hammer, a former NRA president who now heads United Sportsmen of Florida.

Proponents of Revision 12 argue that unlicensed sellers at flea markets and gun shows do not have to conduct background checks or conform to waiting periods, requirements that licensed gun dealers must follow.

``How can you reduce a penalty that doesn't exist?'' said Michele Burger, spokeswoman for the Florida Campaign to Close the Gunshow Loophole. ``An unlicensed seller in Florida presently faces no legal penalty under state or federal law for failing to do background checks or enforcing a waiting period.''